February, 2011

Kim Jong Il assumed power a few years after his father suffered a heart attack. The dictator has a reputation as a somewhat erratic playboy, but his nuclear ambitions must certainly be taken seriously; he exploded a nuclear bomb in 2006.

As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington led American troops to victory against the more powerful British forces in the Revolutionary War. After the war, he presided over the Constitutional Convention and was elected as the first president of the United States.

King Louis XV of France was known as “the Well-Beloved,” although he apparently did little to earn the name. He reigned for nearly 60 years over an unstable country whose financial and political decline culminated in the French Revolution. Culturally, Louis XV helped usher in the rococo period and the beginning of the Enlightenment.

He was an actor, singer and a writer, but first and foremost, Gregory Hines was a dancer. Hines both popularized the art form of tap dance and stayed faithful to its unique history. A dancer for 54 of his 57 years, Hines had a unique ability to combine the aural and the visual, and is considered one of tap dancing’s greatest stars to date.

Abraham Lincoln worked his way from a log cabin to the White House, teaching himself law and earning the faith of the electorate through his ability to communicate. Nearly a century and a half after the Civil War, Lincoln’s promise of freedom and unity has been realized, as Americans resoundingly elected their first black president.

Charles Darwin was never a great student—but he was an avid collector of beetles. After graduating from college, the budding naturalist accepted a position on the HMS Beagle to examine and collect specimens across the world. While stationed on the Galapagos Islands, Darwin recorded observations that led to the publication of “On the Origin of Species,” the genesis of the modern theory of evolution.

Leo Szilard, the Hungarian Jewish physicist, molecular biologist and inventor, worked on the Manhattan Project but expressed himself as a “scientist of conscience,” using his knowledge of nuclear chain reactions to consult with the American government and protest about the risks of nuclear warfare.

American pioneer Laura Ingalls Wilder did not begin writing her first book until she was 64. Only with her daughter’s coaxing did she ultimately decide to share her story, and a beloved children’s classic, the “Little House on the Prairie” series, was born.

Some consider Ronald Reagan the greatest president in contemporary American history: under his watch, the country saw the longest period of peacetime prosperity in its history. Critics of the Reagan era, however, point to the Iran-Contra scandal and the administration’s reluctance to recognize the AIDS crisis. Regardless of how Reagan’s legacy is viewed, it is certainly an enduring one.

Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly a plane non-stop across the Atlantic at age 25. Though he experienced fame and acclamation for his heroism, he also suffered major setbacks, including the kidnapping of his son and accusations of being a Nazi sympathizer.

Outlier and icon, enemy of altruism and champion of the free market, writer and philosopher, Ayn Rand was too extreme to be categorized by any single school of thought other than her own. To this day, she has retained an avid following and garners intense interest from many great figures in business.

The 1920s were a dynamic time in American history. Flappers tested the limits of fashion. Bootleg liquor fought prohibition. In music, the era became known as the Jazz Age. And James P. Johnson, a budding pianist, became one of the best-known musicians of the time.

January, 2011

Jackie Robinson was an accomplished multi-sport athlete who in 1947 became the first black baseball player in the modern major leagues. He displayed courage in the face of racial abuse, earning the respect of teammates, opponents and fans during his Hall of Fame career. His on-field play and off-field involvement in political and social causes helped galvanize the American civil rights movement.

Celebrated for centuries as a national hero and early feminist, Boudica was the “warrior queen” of the Iceni tribe who led a revolt against Roman invaders in Britain. But new evidence casts her in a different light: as a brutal woman bent on revenge.

As author of a groundbreaking book about single women and editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, Helen Gurley Brown has been called a voice for women’s liberation and a role model for working-class women. She’s also been a target of feminist scorn.

By the time he was 40 years old, Charlemagne became King of the Franks, unified most of Europe and was named the first Holy Roman Emperor. A ruthless warrior, he was also responsible for tremendous social, political and economic reforms, and inspired a cultural renaissance.

Aldous Huxley was a writer, critic and intellectual known for his utopian novel “Brave New World” and his essays on a wide range of topics including government, religion, philosophy and psychedelic drugs.

December, 2010

Simon Wiesenthal was a Holocaust survivor. After World War II he spent nearly six decades tracking down hundreds of Nazi criminals whom he considered most responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews, gypsies and others during the war.

Some of the most popular and lasting characters in American comics have emerged from the imagination of Stanley Lieber, aka Stan Lee. His attention to emotion and actual feelings, in a genre dominated by action, has made the man behind Marvel comics among the most successful and widely known figures in comics.

I.F. Stone’s reporting career spanned six and a half decades, and eight major publications. He is best remembered for his newsletter, I.F. Stone’s Weekly, wherein he scrutinized the government and the press, exposing injustices of the McCarthy and Vietnam era.

Branch Rickey was a brilliant and innovative baseball executive who built championship teams and created the farm system. His legacy extends far beyond baseball, however; his 1947 signing of Jackie Robison—the first black ballplayer in the modern major leagues—left an indelible mark on American society.

King George VI was a reluctant king who inherited the throne only after his older brother abdicated. George ably led his country during World War II and is now best remembered for a wartime speech dramatized in the 2010 Academy Award-winning film “The King’s Speech.”